Vardanyan rejects court composition, cites procedural bias

PanARMENIAN.Net - Former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, whose trial on fabricated charges continued on March 11, challenged the composition of the panel of judges, arguing that several of his previous motions had been rejected.

Senior Assistant to the Prosecutor General, Vyusal Aliyev, responded that similar motions had been reviewed in the past and decisions had already been made, according to Minval.az .

Presiding Judge Zeynal Aghayev dismissed Vardanyan’s objection, stating that “this was the defendant's fourth attempt to contest the court’s composition using the same arguments.” He said that all claims “had been thoroughly examined, decisions had been made, and no new evidence had been presented during the ongoing trial.”

Vardanyan refused to answer questions.

Charges against Ruben Vardanyan include incidents involving Azerbaijanis injured by landmine explosions in Artsakh. Some of these alleged "victims" demanded the harshest punishment for Vardanyan during the trial, Azertag reports.

According to Azerbaijani media, a man identified as ethnic Armenian Kamо Hayrapetyan testified against Vardanyan, claiming that after his arrival, "landmine deployment in Karabakh significantly intensified, with warning posters placed in schools, near buildings, forests, and uninhabited areas," Minval.az reports.

The so-called "witness" further alleged that Vardanyan financed the establishment of three military warehouses—two near Stepanakert and one in Askeran—while armed individuals guarded the roads leading to these sites.

The trial will resume on March 18.

Former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, currently imprisoned in Baku on politically motivated charges, sent an audio message through his family, emphasizing that he has always acted according to his moral principles and never betrayed them, even in difficult times.

"I knew what I was getting into, I was prepared, and I am ready for even harsher conditions. I am not a victim, and I do not need pity—this was a conscious decision," he said.